teuer

Teuer is a German adjective meaning expensive or costly, and it can also be used in the sense of dear when the price is high. It describes the price of goods, services, or costs and can be used in both concrete and abstract contexts. In predicative position after verbs like sein, bleiben, or werden, it states that something is expensive: Das Auto ist teuer. In fixed phrases it also appears as part of comparisons or qualifiers, for example viel zu teuer.

Declension and usage patterns follow standard German adjective inflection. With a definite article, endings align with the gender and case: der teure Mann, die teure Frau, das teure Auto; plural: die teuren Autos. With an indefinite article: ein teurer Mann, eine teure Frau, ein teures Auto; in the plural you can say einige teure Autos. Without an article (strong inflection): teurer Mann, teure Frau, teures Auto; teure Autos in plural. After a possessive determiner (mein, dein, ihr, etc.), the neuter singular takes teures and the plural teuren: mein teures Auto, meine teuren Autos.

Etymology traces the word to early West Germanic roots, with German and related languages sharing cognates such as Dutch duur. The word's sense of high price has remained stable across centuries, though stylistic nuances can vary by context.

See also: price, cost, and related German terms for valuation. In everyday language, teure items are contrasted with billig or günstig, and the phrase zu teuer is commonly used to indicate something is excessively priced.